With the season beginning in early January for the Kingdom, a break was well welcomed last weekend but eyes now fully turn to the second half of the season with the visit of Athlone Town to Mounthawk Park tomorrow night.
It’s been a tricky opening 18 games for Colin Healy’s men, who sit 9th in the table but just 8 points adrift of the play-off places. With 54 points left to play for in 2026, it most definitely is an unassailable deficit to face into the second string of 18 games. But defeat on the final day before the break in Cobh will leave a sting in the tail for the Kingdom who have had 13 days to mull over what was a disappointing result in South Cork.
The visitors will come to Mounthawk Park also scratching their heads. 3 defeats in a row before the break to Cobh, Cork and UCD respectively, and without a win since April 24th, the Midlanders have dipped out of the play-off places in the lead up to the mid-season break. But the Town only remain 3 points outside the play-off places, and a win for Kerry tomorrow night could close the gap to 7th to 4 points.
The sides have shared some interesting battles so far this season, with Athlone Town winning the reverse fixture in February by a goal to nil. The sides last met on the May Bank Holiday weekend in Lissywollen, and Kerry have the former Athlone goalkeeper Matt Connor to that in keeping an impressive clean sheet that earned him a spot on the Team of the Week.
Head to Head
Total meetings – 15
Kerry FC Wins 5 | Draws 4 | Athlone Town Wins 6
Did you know?
Kerry FC’s first-ever win in the League of Ireland was against Athlone away in Lissywollen all the way back in 2023. Kerry FC’s biggest league win came in this fixture last season, winning 4-0 in Mounthawk Park just a couple of weeks after Kerry needed extra-time to knock the Midlanders out of the FAI Cup on that famous run last year.
Injury Update
Despite the rest week, Colin Healy has a number of injury concerns ahead of this one. Ryan Kelliher hobbled off in the first half against Cobh before the interval, he needs a scan to see the extent of a knee injury. Arran Healy (Back) needs to see a specialist while Finn Barrett (groin) and Kieran Cooney (Hamstring) remain absent. In positive news, Jonas Hakkinen and Harry Halwax have both returned to on field training.
What they said
Colin Healy – “In this league if you put a few wins together, you climb up the table very quickly; and that’s something we have to start doing. We talk about this and that but it’s action now needed more than words. Athlone are a good side, I keep saying it that they’ve a great manager, they caused us a lot of trouble up there. It was a good draw there but in possession they caused us problems. I know they were beaten as well before the break but they’ve got great players so it will be a tough game. We a disappointed after the Cobh result but it’s a chance for our players to put things right tomorrow night.”